Friday, July 24, 2015

FREE this Weekend!

Alivia Jones sold her soul for success on Wall Street. Brent
Atwood wanted Alivia. She wanted his signature on her paycheck until she
realized he didn’t own her. An invite to her tenth reunion takes her back to
Sunset Beach. One sunset, one kiss and one crazy idea may keep her there.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Now the ‘unsub’ is Obsessed.

Follow Angela Ford’s Gripping FBI Crime Suspense Series. SSA
Jessica Resario and her team hunt the ones who prey on your children…online.
Compelled to do so, only puts them into the hands of a serial killer.

Happy Anniversary Closure! Closure is 2 this July! Where does the time go? It just
feels like yesterday when I spent my days with Jess and the team. Actually, I
recently have. For those of you anticipating the next in the series – It is coming!
I promised to have it out in 2015. It’s finished and off to the editor! For
those of you who haven’t followed the series – there’s still time to catch up.
Closure & Forbidden are available in eBook, Paperback and Audio.

Now for a ‘Sneak-Peak’ of Obsessed– First time revealed excerpt -

Mike noticed the
co-pilot frantically tested the flight control switches as beads of sweat
reached his brow. The pilot in desperate attempt for communication shook his
head which told Mike he’d lost all connections. Their expressions alone told
Mike they were screwed.

“What do you
think happened?”

“Is it possible
to hack into the controls Mike?”

Mike remembered
the Hack in the Box conference he attended. Hacking and hijacking planes by
pressing a few buttons on an Android mobile app would happen more so in the
movies. But this conference had delivered the worry and fear of a couple of
technologies that were massively insecure and susceptible to attacks. One being
the surveillance broadcast which sends the aircraft’s position, altitude and
such through an on-board transmitter to air traffic controllers. It also allows
aircrafts to receive flight, traffic and weather information about other
aircrafts in the air in their vicinity. The other technology that may be
susceptible is the communications reporting system. It is used to exchange
messages between the aircrafts and air traffic controllers via radio or
satellite, and automatically delivers flight phase information. Either one
could deliver malicious messages to affect the behavior of the plane if someone
knew what they were doing. The pilot’s horrific expression jolted Mike as he
heard him continue.

“We lost
everything Mike; power, control and radio. We’re descending too fast and we’re
still twenty miles outside of the airport strip. We’re in for a hard landing.
Unless you can hack in and gain control over the landing gear.”

Those two words hard-landing
made Mike think of Nikki’s message. As quickly as it entered his mind, he shook
those thoughts and focused. Mike’s computer skills had built his reputation in
the FBI. After all, it was the reason the FBI drafted him; his ‘genius-hacking
ability’. He opened his laptop and began his magic. Limited power came back
abruptly but no radio contact. They had limited control of the landing
equipment but nothing much else.

“Somebody’s
playing with the controls”

He thought of Nikki’s message again. If anyone
could hack into the plane’s coordinates, Nikki could. Mike met the love of his
life four months before at an FBI Cyber Safety seminar in Houston. Captivated
by her beauty and intrigued with her brilliant mind he fell hard and fast. Special Agent Niki Dubois worked in the FBI
L.A. office as the senior computer analyst. The FBI had tracked her and gave
her the same choice they gave Mike; join them or be arrested. She hacked into
government sites Mike hadn’t attempted. But why raced his thoughts, he didn’t
want to believe she would do this to him or his team.

The co-pilot
interrupted Mike’s thoughts, “From what I can gather there’s an open field we
can attempt to use as a runway. With limited power of the landing gear, it may
work. I’m just not sure if we enough space with our speed. We are going to hit
hard.”

The pilot turned
to Mike, “Can you hack in and get us any more control?”

Mike raced
against the little time they had. Damn she’s good Mike whispered under his
breath, but she can’t compete with me. Without taking his eyes off the laptop
he informed the pilot of his success.

“We have
complete control of the landing gear now. I’m working on control of the engine
speed.”

“We’re out of
time Mike. Make sure everyone is belted and pray.”

The pilot’s
words hit Mike with the reality they were about to crash. He rushed back to his
team.

Happy Christmas in July! I have books to giveaway on
July 25th!

Sunset Kisses eBook will be FREE on Amazon on July
25th & 26th

A sweet-short-read for the beach you can read before
your sunscreen wears off.

Alivia Jones left Sunset Beach to succeed on Wall
Street. She did. But she also sold her soul to the CEO of Financial Freedom.
Handsome, rich, powerful Brent Atwood wanted Alivia. She wanted his signature
on her paycheck. Until she realized he didn’t own her. An invite for her tenth
reunion takes her back to Sunset Beach. One sunset, one kiss and one crazy idea
just might keep her there.

Surrender is also FREE on July 25th! One
lucky winner will be chosen on July 25th for an autographed
paperback of my romantic suspense. If you missed my ‘Are you a flopper?’ blog
post giveaway – no worries! It’s still open to enter until July 24th.
Click here to enter to WIN!

A sexy narcotics agent and a rich suburban widow are
on the run from the drug cartel. Brett Donovan lives for danger. Lauren
Reynolds lives for new shoes at Saks. One tangled mess leads them to tangled
sheets. Will they surrender to love when they’re from two different worlds?

Escape with a book by Angela Ford.Sizzle your Summer with something Sweet, Spicy or Suspenseful!

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Fiona Paxton left Sunset Beach the day she graduated from high school and never looked back. Working as a fashion designer in Los Angeles California is all she ever wanted. Ten years later, Fiona wants more than money—she wants a caring man. Not one who worries more about how white his teeth are or if his spray tan needs a touch up, than he does about her.

Trip Delacruz gave up the big city to settle down in Sunset Beach tending his bees and making honey.

One look at Fiona and Trip is hooked. Her chestnut hair and blues eyes sparkle when she talks about the Sunset Beach Resort renovation. He would give anything if Fiona looked at him the way she does at the sunset every night.

Sharon Kleve was born and raised in Washington and currently lives on the Olympic Peninsula with her husband.

Sharon is a multi-published author of paranormal and contemporary romance. She loves romance. She loves reading romance, living romance, and especially loves writing about romance. She gets no greater feeling than watching her characters come alive in each other's arms. Most of all, she loves giving her characters the happily ever after they deserve--with a few bumps and bruises along the way.

One of her favorite things to do is picking up a new book and sinking into the story, immersing herself in the emotions between the characters. She hopes to inspire her readers the same way her favorite authors have inspired her.

When not writing, she can usually be found either curled up in her recliner with her cat and a good book, or in the kitchen baking sourdough bread or bagels.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Bring on Summer!

Beach, BBQ s & Books

Bring on Summer! Head to the beach...bring out the BBQ...but most important, Bring on the Books! And for those of you who know me...yes! I'll be in my flops. If you missed my blog 'Are you a flopper?' - No worries. It is open until July 24th. On July 25th a winner will be chosen for an autographed copy of my romantic suspense Surrender

There's nothing better than a book at the beach! I've just read Paula Hawkins' The Girl on the Train. Wow! It was a thrill-of-a-ride page turner!

Good thing I remembered to reapply sunscreen.

But now I wonder what my neighbors are up to??

Similar to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl - another page turner! And the movie was fantastic! Also on my beach shelf is Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman (To Kill a Mockingbird #2). A classic. I remember when my son came home from high school one day and announced he had To Kill a Mockingbird and my daughter piped up, "That's a great book". He looked at his sister in question. She was in grade six at the time. But then again, she started reading Shakespeare in grade five and still loves to. I guess the love-for-books-gene has been passed down.
My love for a Danielle Steele read started when I was a teenager and babysitting for my sister. I found her collection and got hooked! Next on the beach shelf will be Country.
I wish I could read more! But I also love to write! With that comes edits/promotions/events. No, I don't sleep much but I'm happy! I just released a summer romance called Sunset Kisses

One Sunset. One Kiss. One Crazy Idea.

Here's an excerpt:

The sky painted
an array of pink, orange and yellow as the sun lowered to meet the horizon.
There were no clouds in the sky. Jacob felt it to be a sign of promise for a
calm, peaceful night. His wish for her to return had come true. This time he
wished for her to stay. As he got closer he inhaled her scent deeply as the
ocean breeze carried it to his senses.

“Liv”

She turned and
smiled, “Jacob, just in time”. She said no more. She held out her hand to him.
He reached for her hand. Her fingers intertwined with his and he stepped up
beside her. Silence remained as they watched the sunset just as they had so
many times. It felt like she’d never left. No matter how much time had passed
and wherever their lives had taken them; it no longer mattered. Their special
spot remained to be theirs. Jacob smiled as the tip of the sun drifted beyond
the horizon. He laughed.

“What’s so
funny?” Alivia’s eyes met his. He smiled, “Just remembering when we were kids
and you thought the sun sunk and the water put out the fire”.

Alivia
chuckled, “I was five!”

Jacob
reached for her other hand. He lifted them both to his lips, “I’ve missed you
Liv”.

Her
eyes filled. She smiled. “I missed you Jacob”

Her eyes locked
onto his gaze. She’d always been the most beautiful part of the sunset. He
kissed her hands as he held them against his lips. He watched a single tear
fall upon her cheek. He leaned in and brushed his lips gently against her cheek
to wipe it away. His head tipped down to rest upon hers. Her heart beat against
him and his eyes closed. Silently he prayed her heart belonged to him. His
heart belonged to no other.

Sunset Kisses is the first in the Sunset Beach Romance Series. Three bestselling authors are continuing this series. Sharon Kleve's is up next called Sunset Nights. Followed by Jennifer Conner's Sunset Waves. Finishing the series will be Natalie Nicole Bates. I will share the releases as they happen.

I hope you follow this summer romance series. If you pick up a copy of Sunset Kisses and fall in love with Sunset Beach then let me know and enter your name in the comments. One of my lucky readers will be chosen to WIN! the next three in the series as they release.Don't forget to share what's on your 'beach shelf' this summer.

every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Meet Holly - Her Journey of the BIG SWIM

You Go Girl! So proud of your strength and determination to take on

the BIG SWIM! #bigswim2015

Holly is my niece from Nova Scotia. In 39 sleeps she will be taking on the task (along with 59 other swimmers) to cross the Strait between New Brunswick & PEI (14 km) in support of Brigadoon Village Brigadoon Children's Camp Society is a non-profit, year-round recreational camp facility dedicated to children and youth living with a chronic illness. Brigadoon’s Summer is underway with it’s fabulous line-up of summer camp programs. Be sure to share the website with any campers who can benefit from this life changing event.

So here's a little from Holly on her training for the BIG SWIM...and where you can donate...follow her on FB or check out the website

I’m neck deep into the training (literally in the water!), hanging out in lakes for the past few weeks and adjusting to life in a neoprene wetsuit. Not a sentence I ever imagined putting together. I’m into the lakes 5-6 times/week; most swims are 3-4km and we’re slowly adding a km or two. Next week we are aiming to begin ocean swims at least once a week and spend the rest of the time in the lake. These days it’s harder to fit in the training. I was used to early morning pool swims solo and now I’m having to carve out 2-3 hours to be in the lake each session (5-6 times/week) with coordinating 2-3 other schedules, family lives, work and more. Some days it is a lot. Some days it would be easier to skip it. A little swim is better than no swim!I can’t even begin to piece together what this is going to be like. For those that are curious, I don’t have a time goal in mind. My current and only goal is to finish the event. The longer swims in the lake are giving me time to pay attention to things differently, to learn how to slow down, pace myself and to think. There have been a lot of ah ha moments lately where so many encounters, practices, experiences from the past few years are colliding together. Here are a few of my lessons from the past few weeks of training; I think a lot of these will be forever life lessons.

1.There really isn’t much to see when swimming in open water and I’ve been told I will see even less crossing the strait. I am aiming to check out the Confederation Bridge ever chance I get close enough to!

2.Thankfully I’ve not seen any lake creatures other than some minnow like fish. The most exciting animal we’ve encountered was a friendly dog who came along with us tonight at the lake.

3.The mental conditioning is more then physical conditioning.

4.I swim very very crooked. Very crooked. Sue (my kayaker) might need a leash to keep me from drifting to Newfoundland. My crookedness is likely not a surprise to any of you who have watched me walk, coordination is not my forte!

5. A wetsuit is a whole other adjustment. My first encounter with a borrowed suit set me off in a not so great direction. The day my own wetsuit arrived felt magical. We’re still bonding, each day getting more used to each other. (it’s also ok to cry when you get that first nick in the wetsuit)

6.My hair hasn’t been dry since March. It seems to be in a perpetual state of dampness, especially on the days when there is 12 hours between the swims.

7.It is possible to jump pretty high in a lake wearing a wetsuit when you encounter sea grass or a random tree branch.

8.I don’t think I’ve done any activity actively and consecutively for 8 hours in my life. This milestone is going to be huge!

9.A good km of a swim can temporarily make you think you are Wonder Woman and ready to conquer the world.

10.I’ve been fortunate to work with a swim coach, to have others who have done the Big Swim train with us and offer feedback and regardless of who is offering the feedback, the messages are the same; keep your head down, be in the moment, pay attention and slowing down get you further than fast and furious.

If you have not had the chance to donate yet and would like to you can click here. Every dollar raised is helping send kids to camp. Extraordinary kids being given the chance to be ordinary, thanks to your dollars!The training continues with my friends Nancy and Josette, aka Mermaid Mamas. We have some upcoming events happening over July that can be found on our FB page and our website. We’re still collecting prizes for the online auction which will be launched in July. Our website and FB page together have some images from our training, fundraising, tour of Brigadoon and just good ol’ fun in our wetsuits. We’re sharing videos and images from past big swims too.In August we’ll be receiving our GPS locator info that will be attached to our swimcaps during the swim. If you want to , you will be able to follow our progress on the Big Swim day. We’ll share the info on our FB page and our website.I welcome any recommendations of long lakes to tackle or spots along the ocean shore. Thank you for the ongoing support, the curious questions and the encouragement in person, via email , on Facebook and more. It is all coming together swim by swim. Holly

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Are you a flopper? - July's 'Fun in the Sun' Contest with Angela Ford -

I mean do you wear flip flops? I recently read an article about the top reasons why we should toss our flops. Of course, I had to read it. I love my flops! Anyone who knows me...knows that. I live for summer! Can't wait to toss 'on' my flops!

I read flip flops should be kept for the beach, the pool, the spa or public showers. But one shouldn't wear them all the time. The reasons given were--they are bad for you. Well, bad for your toes with all that extra work they do to keep them on your feet. Possible hammertoe, bunions or athletes foot and various fungus because there's only a thin layer between your foot and the ground. It also mentioned they were bad for your posture and aches and pains. Then I read that some may be toxic. What! Yep. Some may be made with chemicals that may hurt you. Wow! I thought. But then again, what in our world is harmful that we don't know about. Then there are harms that we ignore and do anyway.

Thought I'd share my findings and discover who loves their flops. Do you wear them all the time? Sometimes? Or only at certain places?

Love mine! I wear mine except in the long cold brutal winter lol I have them in every color and style I can find them. So I guess I'm a 'die-hard' flopper.

I even put flip flops in one of my books. 'Surrender' - a romantic suspense about a sexy narcotics agent and a rich suburban widow on the run from the drug cartel. Nothing suspenseful about the flops - just a little humor to reflect the two different worlds of my hero and heroine. And also a little reflection on how the simple things in life make us remember those we love.

Here are the two excerpts from the book about those flip flops :

*****

He motioned for her to
get out of the car. Her eyes were on fire as she exhaled a quick breath. Lauren
entered the second-hand store standing out like a sore thumb. Not just by the
way she dressed in a Chanel pant suit, but with her snobbish attitude. She
stood with her arms crossed and a pout on her face while Brett picked out a new
outfit for her disguise.

“These should fit.” He handed her a pair of
jeans and a T-shirt. He figured he knew her size. His hands had travelled every
curve of her body the night before. Making love to her burned in his memory. He
shook those thoughts and remained focused. Brett had one-night stands before.
This one was different. He wondered why. He couldn’t get her out of his
thoughts and it wasn’t the assignment to protect her. Lauren grabbed the
clothes from his hand after he ordered her into the changing room and to bring
the clothes she’d been wearing. He went to pay for the items.

“What are those for?” Lauren tossed her
clothes at him and Brett placed them in a bag. He did not want her to stand out
the way she did. He knew she wasn’t happy with him but at least now she would
blend in. The clothes she’d worn were fine for shopping at Saks, but not on the
run.

“They are for your feet. They’ll be more
comfortable than the things you’re wearing now,” Brett smirked.

“I don’t do flip-flops,” she informed him.

“You do now.”

*****

“A peace offering, I believe
I made you remove these while we were on the run.”

She looked in the bag to find the Chanel pantsuit
and her heels. She laughed and looked down at her feet. She stood in the
flip-flops.

He laughed. “I thought you didn’t do
flip-flops.”

“I do now.”

They both
laughed. She knew he’d remember what he said to her at that second-hand store.